COVID-19 Monitor

Last Updated:October 15, 2020

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Covid-19 is here to stay. The world is working out how to live with it (The Economist) Published on: July 2, 2020 | Category: Global Response

It took more than three months for global cases to reach a million; the last million came in less than a week.
Yet even in the countries with the worst outbreaks, just 5-15 per cent of people have been infected. They may be immune to future infections, at least for a while, but with most of the population still susceptible, getting back to life as usual is impossible.
The priority is to shield from infection those who are most likely to become gravely ill.
Ensuring people understand how to assess their own risk—especially in the event of an outbreak in their area—is crucial. In March Britain’s National Health Service sent letters to some 2.2m people deemed to be at particularly high risk, telling them to avoid going out when the outbreak was at its worst.

A Guide to Building a More Resilient Business (HBR) Published on: July 2, 2020 | Category: Leadership

We can usefully define resilience as a company’s capacity to absorb stress, recover critical functionality, and thrive in altered circumstances.
Companies have been designed predominantly to maximize shareholder value from dividends and stock appreciation. Very few companies even attempt to measure resilience beyond merely disclosing specific material risks.
Resilience must deal also with unidentified risks, and it must consider the adaptations and transformations a company must make to absorb environmental stress and even turn it to advantage.

Jack M. Mintz: Alberta is the first to think beyond this crisis. Now let’s see Ottawa’s recovery plan (Financial Post) Published on: July 2, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

The IMF World Economic Outlook expects our GDP to fall 8.4 per cent in 2020 with a rebound gain of only 4.9 per cent in 2021. By 2022 GDP will still be four points below its end-of-2019 level.
Deficits likely will continue for most of this decade — which is why running surpluses during good years, as we should have been doing since about 2011, is such smart policy.
The plan is a confidence-booster focused on growth. It has three main parts: stimulate investment, skill training and helping people get back to work; build shovel ready — and shovel-worthy — infrastructure; and diversify the economy.

European Health Experts Concerned by U.S. Hoarding of Only Licensed Coronavirus Drug (TIME) Published on: July 1, 2020 | Category: Global Response

Health experts on Wednesday slammed the U.S. decision to hog nearly the entire global supply of remdesivir, the only drug licensed so far to treat COVID-19, warning that type of selfish behavior sets a dangerous precedent for attempts to share scarce treatments amid the pandemic.
The Department of Health and Human Services said Trump has secured 500,000 treatments of the drug through September, representing 100% of Gilead’s July production capacity and 90% of its capacity in August and September.
It is the only drug licensed by both the U.S. and the European Union as a treatment for those with severe illness from the coronavirus.

U.S. added nearly 2.4 million private-sector jobs in June, ADP reports (Washington Post) Published on: July 1, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact

According to payroll services firm ADP, the nation’s private employers expanded by more than 2.37 million positions in June. It also revised its May figures to show a net gain of 3.1 million jobs instead of the loss of 2.76 million reported last month.
Still, the gains are tenuous — stores, restaurants and other businesses that were allowed to reopen weeks ago are shutting down as coronavirus infections spike, leading to new layoffs.
As the economy slowly continues to recover, we are seeing a significant rebound in industries that once experienced the greatest job losses. In fact, 70 per cent of the jobs added this month were in the leisure and hospitality, trade and construction industries.

If Your Colleague Has Covid-19, Will Your Employer Tell You? (WSJ) Published on: July 1, 2020 | Category: Global Response

With more workers back on the job, companies from clothing retailers to auto makers are increasingly confronting a difficult question: If an employee tests positive for Covid-19, who should be told?
Employers are prohibited by federal law from identifying the infected worker.
Beyond that, there is no universal playbook for whether or how confirmed cases should be disclosed and to whom, resulting in a patchwork of approaches that can vary widely even within the same industry.

Revealed: Covid-19 outbreaks at meat-processing plants in US being kept quiet (Guardian) Published on: July 1, 2020 | Category: Economic Impact, Global Response

A chicken processing facility in western North Carolina reportedly underwent widespread testing for Covid-19 in early June.
Workers at the plant were scared. Several employees had already tested positive and the company, Case Farms – which has been repeatedly condemned for animal treatment and workers’ rights violations – was not providing proper protective equipment.
The testing turned up 150 positive cases at the facility, the worker said.
Yet neither the company, county officials nor the North Carolina department of health and human services would confirm whether those cases were connected to Case Farms.

‘No mask. No ride’: Uber will require drivers and passengers to wear face masks indefinitely (USA Today) Published on: July 1, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Global Response

Uber is extending its mask requirement indefinitely throughout the U.S. and Canada as coronavirus cases continue to rise across several states.
The decision was made based on guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The news comes in tandem with the company’s launch of a campaign running on TV, social media and in the app. It’s called “No mask. No ride” and depicts drivers and Uber Eats delivery people working during the pandemic.

Canada’s economy saw record 11.6% drop in April, but signs of rebound emerging (The Globe and Mail) Published on: June 30, 2020 | Category: Canadian Business, Economic Impact

Canada’s real GDP is likely to grow 3 per cent in May, bouncing back from a record decline in April, Statistics Canada said in a flash estimate on Tuesday, as businesses across the country began to reopen following coronavirus-linked shutdowns.
The goods-producing sector posted a 17.0 per cent decrease, led by sharp declines in manufacturing and construction, with the service sector down 9.7 per cent on sharp plunges in the hospitality, retail and transportation sectors, the StatsCan data showed.
“April was a ‘mense horribilis’ for the Canadian economy, and the only thing good about it was that in all likelihood it marked the bottom of this short but extremely deep recession,” Avery Shenfeld, chief economist at CIBC Capital Markets, said in a note.

E.U. Formalizes Reopening, Barring Travelers From U.S. (NY Times) Published on: June 30, 2020 | Category: Global Response

The list of nations that European Union countries have approved includes Australia, Canada and New Zealand, while travelers from China will be permitted if China reciprocates.
The list of safe countries will be reviewed every two weeks to reflect the changing realities of the coronavirus outbreaks in individual nations, officials said, and countries could be added or removed from the list.
Exceptions are also being made for travelers from countries outside the safe list, including health care workers, diplomats, humanitarian workers, transit passengers, asylum seekers and students, as well as “passengers traveling for imperative family reasons” and foreign workers whose employment in Europe is deemed essential.

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